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Kang's plea marks the third and final guilty plea in what the U.S. government has called a "significant" conspiracy to obtain sensitive information on U.S. weapons destined for Taiwan.

Authorities touted the prosecutions against Kang and her co-conspirators as part of efforts to combat "aggressive" Chinese government espionage programs that the U.S. government had not seen since the Cold War with the former Soviet Union.

Officials alleged that Gregg Bergersen, a weapons systems policy analyst for a Defense Department agency in Arlington, Virginia, sold highly classified information to Kuo, 58, a naturalized citizen who lives in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Kuo is said to have handed the information to Kang, a lawful resident alien also living in New Orleans. Kang in turn allegedly gave the information to a spy for the Chinese government.

Kuo pleaded guilty May 13 and faces a maximum life sentence at his August 8 sentencing.

Bergersen admitted handing over the secrets in exchange for gifts including dinners and a trip to Las Vegas. He said he was duped into believing that Kuo was working for a Taiwanese business that would hire him.

Bergersen faces up to 10 years in prison at his sentencing, set for July 11.